Exclusive: Alejandro Díaz on Why DAZN Bet’s Future Lies in Connecting Sports, Betting and the Customer Journey

Sports betting is increasingly moving beyond the traditional sportsbook model. As live sports consumption becomes more closely connected with real-time wagering, operators are looking for ways to make content, betting and customer engagement feel like one continuous experience.

In this exclusive interview with iGaming News Today, Alejandro Díaz, Managing Director Spain at DAZN Bet, discusses his new leadership role at DAZN Bet and explains why connecting sports content with betting could create a differentiated customer experience. He also explores the growing importance of live betting, what operators such as Winamax and Betano are doing well, and how AI can support real-time personalisation.

Q1. Looking back across your career, from customer service and operations to product and senior leadership, what initially drew you to the gaming industry and what has kept you here?

Alejandro Díaz:

I started in the gaming industry 11 years ago in land-based shops in Valencia, initially taking the role mainly because it offered more working hours and better pay. However, after joining, I discovered that I genuinely enjoyed the gaming industry and became curious about how the online side of the business worked.

I then moved into customer service at a small Spanish operator, where I quickly discovered that I had a strong ability to understand the different aspects of the business. Within six months, I moved into a casino and sportsbook product management role, and after around a year and a half, I became Head of Product.

Since then, I have worked across Spanish operations, Latin America, regulated and non-regulated markets, and regional expansion across markets including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai, Singapore and Thailand. I also gained experience building teams, opening offices and managing different market requirements.

Today, I am Managing Director at DAZN Bet. What has kept me in gaming is the variety, the pace and the opportunity to work across different parts of the business. I have always enjoyed learning how different functions work and taking on new challenges.

Q2. As you step into the Managing Director role at DAZN Bet, what are you most excited about and what would you like to achieve?

Alejandro Díaz:

DAZN Betis different from a traditional online operator because we work closely with DAZN and need to create experiences that connect sports content with betting. That means there are many areas where collaboration between DAZN and DAZN Bet is important, from product integrations to offers and the overall customer experience.

For example, our welcome offer combines a free month of DAZN with free bets, which requires close cooperation between both businesses. This creates an experience that is different from what users normally receive from a betting operator.

Having spent most of my career in product, I am also excited about continuing to use that experience to achieve the company’s goals. I am ambitious, and achieving those goals is one of the things I am most excited about in this role.

Q3. When you look at a betting product today, what makes you think it really works well for the customer?

Alejandro Díaz:

One example I look at is Winamax. I think they are doing an excellent job, particularly in adapting their product to younger players in Spain.

Their gamification, communications, social media, promotional mechanics and the way they connect sports and poker create a strong customer journey. Features such as early payouts and different guarantees are also communicated in a way that keeps users engaged.

Betano is another strong example, particularly in terms of how it has built its international presence. Their partnerships, investment and marketing strategy have helped them expand into more than 20 countries.

Ultimately, a good product is not just about having features. It is about how those features, communication, marketing and the overall customer journey work together.

Q4. DAZN already has a strong relationship with sports fans through its media platform. How do you see sports content and betting coming together in the future, particularly in Spain?

Alejandro Díaz:

The market is increasingly moving towards live betting rather than only pre-match betting. Users want to watch what they are betting on, so having a strong and continuous supply of live sports content is becoming essential.

Operators need to provide 24-hour content across sports such as basketball, volleyball, table tennis and tennis, while also creating a strong live-betting journey around that content.

The experience needs to be engaging, with features, notifications and other elements that encourage users to stay involved during a live event. The longer and better the session, the greater the opportunity to drive engagement and turnover.

For DAZN Bet, the opportunity is to make the sports content and betting experience feel like one connected journey rather than two separate products.

Q5. AI is becoming a bigger part of sports betting and online gaming. Where do you think it can make a real difference to the customer experience?

Alejandro Díaz:

We are already starting to use AI in areas such as personalised push notifications. For example, during a Real Madrid versus Barcelona match, the system can generate real-time communications based on what is happening in the game and adapt the tone of the message depending on the user.

We are also looking at AI-driven segmentation and personalisation to understand what individual users are interested in. In the future, this could mean adapting the sportsbook experience depending on the types of markets a particular user prefers, such as free kicks, yellow cards or other specific betting options.

However, I don’t think everything should simply be put on AI. It needs to be tested and measured properly. AI can support the experience, but businesses still need to understand whether it is actually delivering better results for customers.

Q6. Looking towards 2027 and beyond, what do you think could change the Spanish sportsbook and casino market the most?

Alejandro Díaz:

I think retention will be one of the biggest factors. Most operators are investing significant amounts of money into marketing, partnerships and customer acquisition, but the real question is how effectively they retain those users.

You can spend €100 million on partnerships with major football clubs and generate significant brand awareness, but if the users acquired through that investment do not stay with you, the return on that investment is poor.

The key will be creating a strong customer journey through product features, CRM, personalisation and the overall experience. Operators need to make sure that the money they spend acquiring customers creates long-term value rather than simply generating short-term visibility.

Q7. You have experienced many different sides of the gaming business. What advice would you give someone starting a career in iGaming today who wants to eventually move into product or executive leadership?

Alejandro Díaz:

My biggest advice would be to work hard and stay curious. I started in customer service and have now reached a Managing Director position, and one of the things that helped me was never accepting that there was something I didn’t need to understand.

I always wanted to learn about different parts of the business, ask questions and understand how things worked rather than staying within the limits of one role.

I would encourage people starting in gaming to be curious, ask questions, get involved and avoid becoming comfortable with only one function. If you want to progress, you need to keep learning and understand the wider business.

The gaming industry offers a lot of flexibility and opportunities, and if you are willing to work hard and keep developing yourself, there are many different paths you can take.

About DAZN Bet 

DAZN Bet is the betting proposition connected to DAZN, combining sports media and online betting to create a more integrated experience for sports fans.

The business is positioned around the relationship between live sports content and betting, with opportunities to connect DAZN’s sports platform with DAZN Bet’s sportsbook through product integrations, offers and customer experiences.

This sports-first positioning gives DAZN Bet a distinctive proposition within the online betting market, particularly as live betting and real-time sports engagement continue to become increasingly important to sportsbook users.